BucketHatism: Kent State

All RISE!!! Court is now in session. The honorable Bucket Hat King LJ tha Fiasco presiding. Please be seated and come to order”

If you are wondering why the lights are off in the courtroom and why the BHK is wearing his signature RayBan sunglasses it’s because along with the team, we are still hungover from the Clemson game. No Gameday this week, no 37 hours of coverage by 93.9 , and no color themed match-up with a top 5 opponent.

Instead, we got Kent State on a 95 degree with no cloud cover and a lot of pink seats. They say when you get knocked off your horse it’s best to get right back on. Those people have not had to sit through a week of wondering if the fanbase should be put on suicide watch after losing to a great Clemson team. So let’s navigate through this recap the best way we can, with a couple of ibuprofen and a six pack of Gatorade.

Any outbursts from the court and you will be removed by the bailiff “Rally Squirrel”. Don’t ask why the BHK has a squirrel on the payroll, he has a family to feed, Winter is coming, and he doesn’t need you questioning his employment okay.

To say that the team looked hungover was an understatement. Last week was emotionally draining and not just for the players but for the fans as well. As I said in the opening statement, this game was difficult for me to get up for so I can imagine how the guys felt. Nevertheless, a win is win and we will take it.

I knew the game would be poorly attended but I was honestly shocked to get 47k in there being it was 1000 degrees and Kent State is one of the worst teams in the FBS. I saw a ton of people wearing black too which was equally insane. There was a guy there in a black Batman jersey…….. I didn’t ask. Heard some complaints about the fans not coming back after halftime but when you are up 28-3 and you know the team is just trying to get the game over with I am not going to point any fingers.

Dorian Etheridge played like a man possessed the entire game. His final stat line was 9 tackles, 4 solo tackles, and 2 tackles for loss. That is a true freshman that will be counting on the next 3-4 years. He was everywhere the ball was and fans around me began to take notice. Just another true freshman making a name for himself.

I may be in the minority but I am really disappointed we still cannot get Reggie Bonnafon more involved with the offense. He is so talented but can’t seem to find a home anywhere. He did return some punts on Saturday so it seems that the coaching staff is just trying to have him on the field at all times and I don’t blame them. I could be reading too much into it but I just hate that we have an multi-talented guy on the field and we can’t utilize it.

As fans, we are still adjusting to the expansion. Once again I continued to look to my right for the replay screen the majority of the game. A friend of mine wrote the athletic department to see if they planned to add temporary screens in the North end zone and was told it was not possible. They made Tupac into a hologram and took him on tour…….it’s possible.

I think the coaching staff read my Clemson recap because we got a nice helping of Malik Williams on Saturday. He rushed 9 times for 47 yards and 2 td’s and also caught 4 passes for 43 yards. I expect that to continue as long as he stays healthy.

Speaking of running backs, welcome to the party Colin Wilson. The true freshman made his second appearance yesterday and gave fans a glimpse into the future. He carried 3 times for 33 yards and had 1 catch for 8 yards. He also puked in the backfield for good measure right before the the Cards final touchdown. I have blew chunks in worse places than a football field Colin, it happens buddy.

If you were one of the fans that stayed till the end, you got to see the youth movement take shape for Louisville football. At one point you had Russ Yeast (true freshman) returning punts, TreSean Smith (true freshman) getting a sack, Colin Wilson (true freshman) got some touches as noted above, and Josh Johnson (true freshman) nearly scored his first career touchdown but it was stripped right before he reached the goal line. Caleb Chandler (true freshman) got some run on the offensive line. Corey Reed (true freshman) has seen the field a lot the past few weeks. Expect more of the same for Murray State and hopefully these guys get in the game earlier next week.

After waiting for what seemed like years we finally got to see Jawon “Puma” Pass take the field in a regular season game. The drive started on a the one yard line and he quickly made some great passes to move the ball up the field. I am not going to lie to you, I was kind of hoping that he threw an interception on his first pass so we knew we had a great QB. Teddy did it. Lamar did it as well. But hey, Brohm didn’t do it, neither did Lefors, Redman, or Ragone. So it is still promising. We are all wanting to see more and I am sure we will get our wish next week against Murray State. Both he and his brother Khane are going to be huge for this program.

Shout out to Trumaine Washington who was one drop and a penalty away from a 3 interception game. He did have a pick 6 in the first half and ironically the dropped interception would have been returned for a score as well. Glad he had an impressive game.

Going to give a mild shout out to the defensive pass rush only because Kent State only threw 5 passes the entire game (goes to check that stat again), yes 5 passes. They only completed 2 of them. So the majority of their snaps were hand-offs. Kent State is offensively inept. Matter of fact, they have only scored 37 points so far this season. I want to be clear, I was happy they played well and were able to get their confidence back after giving up 35 ppg the past few weeks. But I think we all are waiting to see them shut down a offense that is capable of scoring. These games help with that and also allows the defense to make necessary changes and correct any mistakes. Here’s to hoping they continue to improve. At least our defense is not doing this

We should start a petition for shuttle service to the stadium. I would be all in favor for shuttles that run in 10 min increments to and from the stadium before and after the game. Put two at Old Cardinal Stadium that drop you off at the corner of Central and Floyd. Two on Cardinal blvd that drop you off on Floyd Street, and one near Jim Patterson Stadium that drops you off at the top of the hill because that is near where I park and I don’t feel like walking up Denny Crum Overpass. Part of this is me being lazy, but yesterday was hotter than fish grease and I would have loved to have that service. When the expansion is complete that will be 10,000 more people added so who knows, maybe a shuttle service is in the works.

Our intro video fires no one up. I will just leave it at that since this horse has been beaten to a pulp.

Derek Dorsey and Tyler Haycraft must start a heavy metal band called Bobby’s Rage or something. They both have 80’s rock band hair and both are from Louisville having played at Manual and St. X respectfully. They must also wear a Slayer t-shirt under their jersey for each game. Man law.

Sean Moth tried to nail the “Pass’ pass” yesterday but after a few attempts he bailed and switched it up. I don’t blame him. It was a hell of a day for Moth who had to endure a repeated word and then the fans start clamoring for you to call this play.

He was captured right in front of my section and we booed the guy who held up the bag with him inside. Rally Squirrel will never die. Like Mr. Jingles in The Green Mile he will live in a shoe box under the stadium for many years.

I forgot to mention it last week but I am a huge fan of the “L’s Up” banner that the student section raises at home games now. It looks good and it a testament of the “We, the Future” slogan that the university is trying to convey. I hope it carries over into basketball as well.

And in closing, next week’s game will be tough for fans to get excited for being the opponent is not great. The good thing is our team is going to use this to improve in areas that need it and it also builds confidence. We would love to play a P5 opponent each week but this goes a long way for young players still getting acclimated to a the speed of the game. So just come out to the game and enjoy it. We will likely see more of the young players get playing time before the big game against NC State next week. The conference race is going to start heating up soon, the season is far from over.

Who knows, Rally Squirrel may come back and run the read option in the 4th quarter.